Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program and Film Society of Lincoln Center are partnering to celebrate 25 years of the Columbia University Film Festival. Events include a presentation of some of the best short films from Columbia graduates over the last 25 years and a panel of some of Columbia's successful women filmmakers including Lisa Cholodenko, Nicole Holofcener, Larysa Kondracki and Kimberly Peirce.

Director Lisa Cholodenko will participate in a women filmmakers panel at this year's CUFF.

Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program and Film Society of Lincoln Center are partnering to celebrate 25 years of the Columbia University Film Festival. Events include a presentation of some of the best short films from Columbia graduates over the last 25 years and a panel of some of Columbia's successful women filmmakers including Lisa Cholodenko, Nicole Holofcener, Larysa Kondracki and Kimberly Peirce.

Screenwriter Malia Scotch Marmo will also be presented with the Andrew Sarris Award which is selected by current School of the Arts Film Program students.

More than 40 student thesis short films and feature screenplays will premiere during the weeklong festival.

Early works from prominent alumni to be included in Opening Night Celebration

This year’s festival to be co-presented by
Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program and Film Society of Lincoln Center,
Opens May 4th in New York with a Retrospective Celebration at Alice Tully Hall.

New York, March 27, 2012 – Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program and Film Society of Lincoln Center have announced they will co-present the 25th Anniversary of the Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF), a week-long program of screenings, dramatic readings and special events in New York. The celebration will continue with events to be announced for June in Los Angeles. This marks the first time that the festival is co-presented by the Film Society and the first time Opening Night will be held at Alice Tully Hall. The festival will open with a 25 Year Celebration featuring a selection of the best student short films representing the past 25 years, presented by esteemed alumni of the program.

Opening Night
In addition to the retrospective montages shown at the celebration with introductions from esteemed graduates, the following shorts will be shown in their entirety: “Swingin’ in the Painter’s Room” (1989), directed by Greg Mottola; “The Lunch Date” (1989), written and directed by Academy Award Winner Adam Davidson; “One Day Crossing” (2000), screenplay by Christina Lazaridi, directed by Academy Award Winner, Joan Stein, produced by Karen Severns; “Chicken Heads” (2009), written and directed by Bassam Jarbawi, produced by Ed Blythe; and “Off Season” (2010), written and directed by Jonathan van Tulleken, and produced by Jacob Jaffke, a film that was nominated for a BAFTA Award. In addition, excerpts from early works of Lisa Cholodenko, James Mangold, Kimberly Peirce, Tanya Wexler, and many others, will be included.

The Andrew Sarris Award
Malia Scotch Marmo (’88) will receive this year’s Andrew Sarris Award, named for School of the Arts Film Program professor and world-renowned critic and theorist Andrew Sarris, which honors outstanding service by and artistic achievement of distinguished Film Program alumni. Marmo’s screenwriting credits include “Rafina,” “Madeline,” “Hook” and “Once Around.” The award will be given at the Opening Night Celebration.

What Glass Ceiling? The Remarkable Success of Columbia’s Women Filmmakers
Lisa Cholodenko (“The Kids Are All Right”) Nicole Holofcener (“Please Give”), Larysa Kondracki (“The Whistleblower”) and Kimberly Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry”) will be the featured panelists in a special Columbia University Women Filmmakers Panel titled “What Glass Ceiling? The Remarkable Success of Columbia’s Women Filmmakers.” The event, which is free to the public, will be held Wednesday, May 9th at the Film Society of Lincoln Center: Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and will also be streamed live.

The festival is the annual premiere of over 40 thesis short films and feature screenplays by MFA students in the School of the Arts Film Program. Many of the films premiered over the past 25 years have gone on to win top awards and honors at prestigious festivals worldwide.

The schedule of this year’s events is as follows:

Friday, May 4
7:00pm: Opening Night: 25 Years of the Columbia University Film Festival
Lincoln Center: Alice Tully Hall

Visit www.cufilmfest.com for up-to-date information, as well as a full list of festival films, synopses, filmmaker bios, and ticket information. Ticket prices range from $7 to $25 depending on the event.